The Breakfast Club - The Professional Homegirl: UNLOCKED: We're A 90's R&B Girl Group

Episode Date: January 5, 2025

The Black Effect Presents... The Professional Homegirl! On this episode of PHG Unlocked on The Professional Homegirl Podcast, Eboné sits down with an iconic 90s R&B girl group whose sultry harmonies and unforgettable hits shaped a generation’s soundtrack. The trio opens up about their meteoric rise to fame, the creative chemistry behind their chart-topping singles, and the personal and professional challenges that ultimately led to their breakup. With candid reflections on sisterhood, resilience, and lessons learned, this conversation takes you behind the music to reveal the untold story of three women who left an indelible mark on R&B. Will our guests conceal or reveal their identities? Tune in for an exclusive, heartfelt journey filled with inspiration, nostalgia, and truth, only on The Professional Homegirl Podcast!  Connect with Eboné: Donate Turkey HERE Buy Eboné A Gift: Shop Now Eboné PHG Storefront: Shop Now Read Eboné's Love Letters: www.theyalltheone.com  Website: www.thephgpodcast.com Instagram: @theprofessionalhomegirl & @thephgpodcast TikTok & Twitter: @theprofessionalhomegirl  Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theprofessionalhomegirl Email: [e-mail] Shop PHG: https://www.thephgpodcast.com/shopSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I'm Jason Alexander and I'm Peter Tilden and together our mission on the Really No Really podcast is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor? What's in the museum of failure and does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to ReallyNoReally.com and register to win $500 a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition signed Jason Bobblehead. The Really No Really podcast.

Follow us on the iHeart radio app app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. People, my people, what's up? This is Quetzalove. Man, I cannot believe we're already wrapping up another season of Quetzalove Supreme. Man, we've got some amazing guests lined up to close out the season, but you know, I don't want any of you guys to miss all the incredible conversations we've had so far. I mean, we talked to A. Marie, Johnny Marr, E. Jonathan Shecter, Billy Porter, and so many more. Look, if you haven't heard of these episodes yet,

hey, now's your chance. You gotta check them out. Listen to Questlove Supreme on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going.

That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about. It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The forces shaping markets and the economy are often hiding behind a blur of numbers. So that's why we created the big take from

Bloomberg podcasts to give you the context you need to make sense of it all. Every day in just 15 minutes, we dive into one global business story that matters. You'll hear from Bloomberg journalists like Matt Levine. A lot of this meme stock stuff is I think embarrassing to the SEC. Follow The Big Take podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen. Hi, I'm Dani Shapiro, host of the hit podcast, Family Secrets.

How would you feel if when you met your biological father for the first time, he didn't even say hello? And what if your past itself was a secret and the time had suddenly come to share that past with your child? These are just a few of the powerful and profound questions we'll be asking on our 11th season of Family Secrets. Listen to season 11 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome one and all to the professional Homegirl podcast. Before we begin today's episode, we want to remind you that the views and opinions expressed on this podcast are those of the host and guests and are intended for educational and entertaining purposes. In this safe space, no question is off limits those of the host and guests and are intended for educational and entertaining purposes. In this safe space, no question is off limits because you never know how someone's storyline

can be your lifeline. The Professional Homegirl Podcast is here to celebrate the diverse voices, stories, and experiences of women of color, providing a platform for authentic and empowering conversations. There will be some kiking, some tears, but most importantly, a reminder that tough times don't last, but professional homegirls do. Enjoy the show. Hey professional homegirls. It's your girl Ebene here and welcome back to the professional homegirl podcast.

Now before we dive into this week's episode, I want to give a huge shout out to all of our new listeners joining us. Hey, girl. Hey, what's up boo! Since you are new here, even though all of my guests are anonymous, if you are interested in learning more about them or you want to support them by purchasing their books, please shoot me an email at hello at phgpodcast.com. Also, I am gearing up for my very first turkey drive in Memphis, yes the city where I was raised and I would love for you all to help and support.

If you are able to donate, please click the link in the show notes below. I am super excited to introduce a brand new series called PHG Unlock. Now in this series, I'll be sitting down with some notable figures, celebrities, and more. But with a twist, my guest gets to choose whether or not they want to conceal or reveal their identity. And yes child, we will be distorting their voices so there's no cheating. You don't want to miss out on these exclusive conversations where we dive deep into their stories all while keeping you guessing who's really behind the voice. Get ready to unlock some incredible stories only here on the Professional Homegirl Podcast. Now in this PHG Unlock episode, we dive into the dynamic world of the 90s R&B, spotlighting

a group that made waves with their unique blend of soulful harmonies and unmistakable style. Known for their unforgettable hit exploring love, loyalty, and heartbreak, these ladies redefined the sound of the era, leaving a lasting mark on the music scene. They were fierce, they were real, and their voices resonated with listeners across the world. Together, we revisit the memories, the music, and we dig into the untold story behind their success

and why they parted ways. Will our guests conceal or reveal their identity? Get ready for an unforgettable conversation with this legendary R&B trio, because we're a 90s girl group starts now. All right, so my guests, thank you all so much for being on the show. How y'all doing?

How y'all feeling? We're doing great. Thank you for having us. Yes, yes. Y'all, I am super excited to have my guests on because we are with some legends. So once again, I am super excited to have my guest on because we are with some legends. So once again, thank you all for being on the show.

And let's start from the very beginning. Yeah, so why do you think the 90s holds such a special place in people hearts, especially when it comes to music? I feel this, I feel that it holds a good place because I feel that way because I think, you know what, a lot of music in the 90s was very authentic and live. Like when I say live and authentic, I mean, people were recording without like a lot of reverb, you know, so you can really hear the people voices. And a lot of stuff is like kind of like now it's like more, you

can hear a lot of reverb. Reverb means like you can hear like auto-tune. Auto-tune, you can hear a lot of that in the music. So just for people who don't know what I mean by that, it's like auto-tune, where you can actually help to sing. I'm not knocking you, but 90s, that's why I hold a place on your heart, because you hear every artist and you can tell who it is, because it's their real voices live.

Yes, and also in addition to that, you had a variety of artists. You had groups, you had different girl groups, you had different male groups, even the rap, you had different sounds of rap. So you have a lot of different genres. Everything didn't sound so much alike, you know, some good music now, but you had different types of groups with different genres, you know, and so I think because of that realness, that gave it that, that different genre, that different artisticity to that era. It was a good, a feel good era. I feel like when y'all heard the music now, y'all probably be like, what the hell? Some of it, not all of it.

I'm going to keep it 100. I'm going to keep it 100. I'm going to keep it 100. I feel like when y'all hear the music now, y'all probably be like, what the hell? Some of it, not all of it. I ain't gonna lie. I'm gonna keep it 100. I deal with some of it. Because some of it sound alike. I'm like, now, who is this person? It's like you hear the same sound.

It's not a lot of uniqueness to be real. And honestly, music, it's a form of copy. You do copycat people. It's not like it's a form of copy. You know, you do copycat people, you know, it is it's not like it's abnormal. But when it's done, and you are not using your voice, it's one thing to like an artist. But if you don't copy him, you still should come to your own authentic voice. We can understand how you what you bring to the table. Instead, you take it over somebody's hard work, like artists from the 90s, we worked really hard. Like 70s artists, they worked really hard to be unique, to do what they love. So when you hear their music and 90s music, that's why you feel that whole energy

of uniqueness. And you're right, the new music, I was like, hmm, there's some people that got it right though. Nah, I know you'd be like, girl what is that? Right. And you know what also we had artist development too. There was artist development too back then. Yeah. And that's the best thing, I think that hurts a lot with a lot of people. You know the artist development is it lacks. People think they can be a YouTube star that quick and they aren't making their money from it. Or a TikTok star, whatever you want to call it. Yeah, I feel like back in the day like it was like a real boot camp like they wasn't playing games

Straight boot camp. Yeah. So what was it like being a part of the 90s R&B scene? It was bomb because we didn't have phones back then and we are also, you know We got to really get intimate with the people, the different artists that we was connected with. If we was doing like a tour, any type of thing we was involved in, you got to really connect better. I think in the 90s, you got to really know the artists. And you know, the scene was hot. It was dope. And you know what? I think people really let loose a lot because we didn't have like people recording us. It was like a private, you know, a private little, I don't want to say like a private sorority or fraternity, but like, it was that energy,

like you would, nobody can be in your business. It was like, everybody would stay, like, you know how they say, what stays in Vegas, whatever they say, what you do in Vegas stays in Vegas. Stay in Vegas. Whatever they say. Right. That's the kind of vibe it was for the 90s scene.

Like you are really in the moment and getting connected with the people that, you know, that you work with, that you got the same love with. And it was really fun too. It was like fun times. People didn't have no high anxiety or you know like just that energy where you know it was a lot of confidence in the air, but it wasn't that energy like I'm better than you. It was like we both about the top of the stage tonight. We would see people backstage, we were crossing cities, crossing states.

We'll see Mary, we'll see, oh, Joe will see little Kim. We would be passing each other like, hey, what's up y'all, how y'all doing? They'll be getting on the bus, we getting on a stage. They leaving the stage, we getting on. Though it was always, it was very carefree and fun. It wasn't no tension, no tension, you know, like some tension in the air.

True, and to add to that, I enjoyed the fact that when we used to be performing, any artist, people really stayed back and like watched the other, you know, the other artists. More supportive. More supportive, yes. Yeah. More supportive. That supportive, yes. Yeah. Now it's hot, that's dope.

We got the time to support. That sets the way into my next question. How do you think the industry has changed since then? Well, I think a lot of people keep to themselves and who you know is who you know. It's like, it's more clickish. Like, even though it was clicks back in the time, but clicks, new clicks, and they was, you interacted.

But now more backstage is more like, if you know somebody, you'll see them, but people so now much be to with their own click that came with them and stick in their own room. So they kind of just be more. Private for whatever reason. Some reasons are good. Some reasons are not to stay out of trouble or, you know, just they feeling they self, either I don't know, but it seems a little bit more where everybody is kind of.

A little bit more distant. Yeah. Yeah, a little bit more distant. I think a little bit more distant. And I think even like, like, like when I was, when you mentioned about the difference, you know, the whole, what you call it, like, like, auto-tune energy, you know, like, I was talking about the auto-tune situation too. People were not, are not as authentic, like we were back then in the 90s. The auto-tune, you don't really know who it is. They, everybody

sound the sound. And it's like, you know, and it's like, who is this person? You don't even know. And like in the 90s, if you go and put a 90s that feel good music and you also can tell, oh, that's such and such. Oh, that's you know, the difference you really do. I know I do. I definitely know the difference when I hear the 90s artists. I can hear the difference. I can hear the difference. Meaning difference between like two different artists, you know, the artists, you know, that this is this artist.

I mean, and I miss that. Yeah. And the thing about the new music is like, you don't get that from there. You don't get that. It's like microwavable. People are like jumping in the game, getting that quick fix, getting them,

everybody like, I wanna get the bag. I'm getting that bag. You know what I'm saying? It's not like everybody talking about they gonna get that bag. But you know, we all to get the bag. I'm getting that bag. You know, everybody talking about they going to get that bag. But, you know, we all want the bag, too. But we love what we do, too. Right. And I also feel like back then in the 90s, like, not only did we

we felt the emotion, but it was just you could just feel it. Like you knew when somebody was happy, you know, when somebody was sad, you know, when somebody was in love. Like, I feel like the 90s was just a time that you just had to be there. You know we didn't have phones and Instagram and all that so you didn't have no other distractions. You were able to be in the moment with that person. If you had something to say you either had to wait, like say if we came out with a video you wasn't gonna see any footage beforehand. You really had to wait to the video to see who was going to cop the blue lipstick first or you know you know it wasn't a lot of distractions distractions or copycat like a lot of copycat you know because you know people you know you okay because let me tell you something

once you shoot a video you got your video going and you would be able to know who copied off for you because you didn't have once it get dropped you know that you did it first yep because you have to wait for it to come out too you have to wait wait for editing and all of that now y'all I guess they look they look super good mad fly brown skin for the win so being at the 90s was the golden era who was trying to talk to y'all? Oh, I think for me, I think on my end, I had like comedians trying to holler at me and like more on the comedian side and a couple of rappers, but no R&B dudes was talking to me like that. Maybe because I had a little thug in me or something. I might have been too much for the R&B cats, but more, but more rapping. I think more

rapping and yeah, I feel like more rappers and comedians on my end. Oh, and a couple of athletes. I did have a couple of athletes on me. Yeah. So I'm thinking about it now. So wait, so name one comedian and one athlete and one rapper that was trying to talk to you that's current now. Well, I wouldn't say their names because they're married now. It's somebody we know. Because they're married now. Yeah, y we know. Because they're married now.

Yeah, y'all know them. They married now so I wouldn't even like put them out there like that. But if they were single I would bust them out. But they're married, got a whole family, got a whole life. Anybody single that was trying to talk to you that's current now? Um, no everybody, you know like now you know Cass is older now everybody, you know me and Mary, you know, Cass is older now, everybody, you know, me and Mary got a home. And if they are single, I don't know about it. Right, right. What about you? Some rappers.

It was a football player that was trying to get at me, but I don't even know his name. If I could say it, I don't even know. I don't even remember him, poor thing. I think he was with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Somebody from there. Tampa. Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's true.

We both had a football player from the Buccaneers. That's true. I really don't remember his name. I'll give you an idea. There was a guy from the Buccaneers and he's very incredible. He's a hall of famer, but he's married and got a whole family.

All right, y'all, I'm gonna do my research and I'll get back to y'all when y'all know who it is. Right. Okay, I can tell you a singer that tried to get at me because I don't know what they doing in life and there's no disrespect that he's married or whatever, but I'm not checking for him. I wasn't checking for him then

and I'm not checking for him now. Right. KC from Jodeci. KC trying to get everybody though. Yeah, and he was with Mary at that time. So I was like, boy, please. But even if he wasn't with her, right, somebody from New Edition, not gonna put because I think he is Mary based off their show.

No, but no, somebody from New Edition. Oh, I know who. No, not him. I don't even know who you're gonna say, but you know, you know how you can tell when some people want to get at you. They're not saying nothing, but they're throwing like serious. Yeah, flirtatious. But I'm gonna jump with that.

I'm not gonna say the name because I think I think I'm the type of person that I don't really like people that's in the same field that I'm in. Like meaning like since I'm in the RB hip hop, I'm really more, I would choose more like an athlete type of person or a comedian. Somebody's not doing the same thing I'm doing. I'm curious about other people's, know careers and journal they got going on I don't want the same I never want the same energy to keep it real with you Yeah, if you're rapping you

Check it for you like that, but if you're a comedian or you are Athlete I'm more intrigued by that Right now. How did y'all meet like we are friends before the group started or cuz I wasn't sure if y'all met in high school Or if y'all knew about each other in high school or y'all meet? Like, were y'all friends before the group started? Or because I wasn't sure if y'all met in high school or if y'all knew about each other in high school or y'all met in college. And I met in high school as cheerleader. She was already on a cheerleading squad, and I was trying to make the squad.

So that's how we connected. And I was doing my dance and doing my thing. And I needed another dancer. I was looking for another dancer, and everybody was like, she was famous in high school. She was popular, so everybody knew she could dance. Oh, you was lit. Yeah, she was lit.

And so when I was looking and asking around, I was like, oh, you need to ask. And I already knew she had flavor and poise and style just from being the cheerleader, but we wasn't close. We just met each other. We just knew each other, but we didn't really get close until after we start cheering and everything. But I asked her if she wanted to dance,

and then she just locked in. She was like, yes. Her style matched my style. We was vibing with each other, and then we met in college, right? Yeah, in college. A couple years later. Through you because it was like just me and Wintry,

me and Keke, my daughter, my little daughter so much so crazy. I got to. And I remind her of her daughter. I'm starting to like her daughter too. They both muscle bound girls. You know, from college. So she was looking, she was looking,

there was some guy that she knew that was a rapper was looking for some dancers. We thought we was like, you know, we thought we'd gonna have like a whole audition for a dancer, you know what I'm saying? We were serious. We were serious like, we gonna go to this park, rent it out.

Like, I mean, just imagine we 17 years old having this energy time, you know, we gonna rent it out, we I mean just imagine we 17 years old having this energy time. You know, we're gonna win it out We don't have people come and it's so funny that only one person and it was but we were serious Biz we're serious about it Yeah, I knew y'all was serious when I was listening to the interviews and just doing research I'm like, you know back then I they eat the thought that y'all even had the mindset of like let's do auditions Like let's let's scout out the next person

so we can be official with that because I know dance play an intricate role into y'all music journey. It did, definitely. We was like the type of group that, you know, go to different clubs and then that's another thing. I don't really think they really get down, like we really dance and sweat and I'm like,

but we ain't trying to look cute all day. We are getting on the Cypher floor, like how rappers, people see that on BET or the little awards show now. We been doing Cyphers back in the days in the 90s. And the Cypher was like dancing in a circle. And it was dance in a circle. And everybody crowding around them. And that was the type of energy. So then that led us to be able to do different videos with different hip hop artists. was there in a circle and everybody crowded around him and I was having energy so then

that's what that led us to be able to do different videos with different hip hop artists. Unfortunately one of the one of the queens that passed away just recently her name is boss got to give her props rest her soul rest and peace she was a rapper who passed away and she's incredible. We was at uh mental mondays uh bill biv the bow used to to do these shows on Mondays at the Palladium. Yeah. It's like for teens to 18, 19 and 21, you know, it was our type of energy. So you know, we was dancing, doing our thing, what we love. And if I'm not mistaken, y'all were also backup dancers for like a lot of well-known artists

like Big Daddy Kane. Mm hmm. AMG AMG, Chris and Clay, not Kid and Clay. You about to say any real names? Right, I'm about to say any real names. Who that? Silk? I was like an extra, like a background person, but it was actually dancing in Silk.

You was in Silk Video? Yeah, Silk Video. Happy Days, Happy Days are here again. Oh wow! But it was actually dancing in silk. You was in silk video? Yeah, silk video. Happy days, happy days are here again. Oh wow! So if I'm not mistaken, y'all also have a good relationship with Ritima Robinson who is a seasoned

dancer. So how did she play a pivotal role in y'all career? Because I think it was something y'all was also trying to try out for Michael Jackson, remember the Signs video as well Yes Talk about the story about that with Fatima so in our book that's coming out is called unfinished business. We talked about that about Fatima there was moments of Fatima that was great and there was moments that was not so great. Like she was definitely about her business at a young age as well. We all used

to dance and you know, so we talk about the story that happened with the Michael Jackson video, how it was like, you know, it was like back then, like there was cliques and we were talking about like different cliques. It was cl was click like it was a lot of dancers trying out for this video And we talked about how she picked certain people and people was telling us that I don't know why y'all didn't get paid Cuz y'all y'all really was killing it But it was crazy because it was like a was a thousand people thousand answers right out But it was like we got called back out of our little clique And it was only 20 days

and they was narrowing it down. And so we talk about how we felt like, you know, and that's why I love our book that's coming out because we all felt a different kind of way. Like me, to keep 100, I didn't feel I didn't like how it went down. Oh, I know you wasn't messing with it. Like I didn't like how, but now that I'm down, I see how it go. I was in my feelings back then, but now I'm older, I see it differently. It's a game. It's, you know, you people gonna pick who they roll with. Right.

And it's like a call to call. You have to have these many people. You already know who you're picking. That's how it used to be back in the days when you did auditions back in the days. So Fatima wasn't doing nothing no different than the next cat was doing. Right. Like as far as having a gang of people, because you got to do it for Michael Jackson. You

got to show that you had people out there trying out, but you already know in your head who you want. That's something we didn't know until after the fact, or at least me for me I didn't know that till after the fact so my thing was I mean I really wanted to be in that video but it didn't happen we did other videos you know what I mean it was Michael Jackson but we did other stuff and Fatima was the one who got us the other stuff too you know but we didn't we didn't get that one but you know what she blessed us after that she might have maybe her conscience I don't know if her conscience bothered you know what? She blessed us after that. She might have made her conscious. I don't know if her conscious bothered her or what.

So I know I wasn't really feeling her the same. But she did come through. After that, maybe she got her conscious or something. Because she didn't want to put us in the Daddy Kane video. This group called Good Girl. They was called the Good Girls, something like that. Mm-hmm. What was that called?

Good to Go? Good to Go? Yeah. Did you have a conversation with her? No? I haven't. I think my energy gave her a conversation. I think after the fact, I let it go because I mean she did come through later on after

that. Right. I'll say if I be honest, I was turned off back then with that situation scenario, because we didn't know what was going on at then. We didn't know that people would be rolling their heart like that and would have you working your butt off dancing and then not to get picked. But you know, as time went on, we realized, you know, as you get older and understand how the game worked, you ain't tripping about no more.

But it was, I was with my feelings back then. Definitely. But it was, I was in my feelings back then, definitely. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Lily podcast. Our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like. Why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor.

We got the answer. Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer We talked with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you and the one bringing back the wooly mammoth Plus this Tom Cruise really do his own stunts his stuntman reveals the answer and you never know who's gonna drop by Mr. Brian Cranston is with us. How are you? Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park Wayne Knight. Welcome to really really sir. Bless you all Hello, Newman and you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging really that's the opening really no really No, really go to really no really calm and register to win

$500 a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign Jason Bobblehead. It's called Really No Really and you can find it on the iHeartRadio app on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Now, do y'all feel like y'all was destined to be in a group? And the reason why I ask because y'all have so much in common and I feel like when I was reading more about your story, I feel like everything was why I ask because y'all have so much in common and I feel like when I was reading more about your story I feel like everything was like lining up for y'all. Do y'all feel like that too? Yes, we do. Yeah, we do. I think when we had started off we would, our goal was honestly to just be these great dancers and touring

all over the world. We just, that was really what we wanted to do, just be these great dancers and choreograph different groups and tour. That was our initial type of energy. But when we was doing our thing, and we'll be performing a different showcase, back then it was major showcases. And you'll see people like Mariah Carey, Jamie Foxx. You see them, like Jamie Foxx wasn't even singing,

he was just doing his comedy stuff. No, he was singing, he wasn't even coming here. We could be at these different like I mean it's so beautiful to see people from back in the days and where they are now but we used to do these popular because we from Cali we from Cali so Cali got all the energy everybody be in Hollywood you know doing their thing and you know we would win every time as dancers behind these. So we were in line like that, you know what I mean? We just did what we love. And people noticed that you guys should be more than

hard bodies in the back dancing. Yeah. It was like we were outshining the main artists with our dancing. So we would always get people from behind the stage or just even people from the audience. Like you guys did so good, y'all not a group or y'all should become a group or what's the name of your group? And that got us thinking like, you know, we start seeing ourselves different, but yet still

we were dancers until someone actually really approached us like you guys need a name, you know, we were just going off of our real names, but we needed a group name. And once we had that group name and we still was dancing, doing our thing, then we would got approached to be a group. Like you guys should be a group. So we, it was destined for us to come together and do what we did because it happened and it felt good while it was happening.

And we do have a lot of similarities and we were aligned to meet each other at the times that we did to do what we were supposed to do Which is a beautiful thing And I also feel like because you have a background in dance It also made you more versatile when it came to performing compared to your other R&B counterparts. Do you feel like that? Oh Yes, I feel like I was well? Oh yes, definitely. I feel like I was the Sierra back then. Sierra is so dope.

I love her dancing. I was that Sierra back then. You know what I'm saying? That energy Sierra brings, period. Yes. Now, were there any girl groups at the time that inspired y'all when y'all were first starting out? For me, I would say Salt and Pepper. Yes. Salt and Pepper is the only one for me. Yeah,

because it wasn't a lot of girl groups. It was more like individuals. Like I love Janet Jackson, you know. She was not in the group. But Salt and Pepper for sure. Baby that girl was serious about Janet. But in groups like Salt and Pepper, what other groups? You know what I mean? Did y'all come out before a lot of the other groups? Like, was it? I thought it was like y'all did SWV, then? TLC came out before us. TLC, right.

Y'all was like, right. S.A. came out before us. But I think Salt and Pepper were more in line, even though they were a good group. But we were more in line with more like with the Salt and Pepper, BBD energy. Because see, it's two rappers and one singer in our group. group but we were more aligned with more like with the salt and pepper bbd energy because see we it's two two rappers and one singer right in our group and so a lot of time that's stuff that we

had to like when we performed people saw us live we kind of had like maybe maybe fuji's energy we were behind the scenes coming out like we was working in the studio they just came out before us we didn't have a deal yet. They were out, we already had our concept who we were as people. So they couldn't, nobody, they didn't inspire us like that because we already was quiet and doing music. It's like we didn't look up to them. It was kind of like we side by side with y'all.

So they were great groups and we liked them, but they wasn't a group like, oh, we want to be like them later on in life. It was kind of, it was just a couple of years ahead of us. Right, right. You know, because they got their deal earlier, whatever the case may be. So it would be older groups we would look at. We was making noise in our neighborhood. Before we even got our deal, we had another like an independent deal.

So we was making our own noise in our little town in Cali, in Inglewood in LA. You know, but we wasn't assigned to an actual record here like they were so when you say looking up I won't only say probably something pepper Right. Did you ever feel pressure to fit in a certain image or sound because y'all were women in the industry? Like did they ever try to make y'all conform to a certain way cuz I feel like when I was looking back at our videos Yeah, sure sound like y'all were fly like I was like they're around the way girls Like even now like did I ever feel like the around the way girls like even now like did you ever feel like I had to perform in a certain sense for me um we we came as we

who we were we brought who we were to the table and to be honest no disrespect to none of the ladies that was doing like little kim's the way she was talking and stuff that was us right we did that all the time we got people trying to have us tone that down. So it was pressure from like our record company, you know, people who was involved like, oh, you saying that or why you saying this? And even at that time, radio stations wasn't as open as they are now. It's out of control now.

But like some of our songs didn't like whose mind did get played on KJL. Talk just like sexy, but they wasn't playing your music at that time. So Art Recalab was trying to, they was trying to make us be like these R&B divas and that wasn't who we were. Yeah, that's not who we were. So we used to constantly have like a battle with that because we were rappers and we did rap and singing. We kept who we were. But we used to battle all the time. That was difficult for me, I'll tell you. So it was the pressure of us. They not allowing us to be ourselves truly, I think, like how we came, how we auditioned, we rapped and sing and we wore what we wore, we dress how we dress, say what we said. They were trying to tone us down and make us be an R&B group, right?

You know and we have to fight for that. And so it's not that we was hood and ghetto We just was like from the inner city talking about inner city energy You ain't never seen us look like who Called it back That's why they used to call it back the end. No, they still call it that now. Poochies, remember they used to call it that? Poochy girls. So, Wayne, how do y'all feel about the reception

that Sexy Red has been receiving? Honey, don't get me on her. I'm sorry. I'm not a fan. I don't really know her music. I'm not a fan. What I see is, you know, it's like, it's like the ratchetness is cool

because it's a little bit in every woman, I think. But it's a time you got to have some boundaries. It's just too much. It's too much. It's just too much. I wouldn't want my little girl listening to her music. You know what I mean? You got to be a full fledged grown woman listening to her music, you know what I mean? You gotta be a full fledged grown woman, listen to her music. And you know, I haven't,

I've heard of her through other people and I'm just now literally like, no lie, like two weeks ago just saw her in a video cause she with some other girl that I do like, you know what I mean? So I'm just now really seeing her for myself. Blow rhythm? But I'm not a big fan,

but good luck, good for what you're doing. I feel like the girls need to put their clothes on. Even a guy. I don't want a guy with his clothes on either. Either or. I want to see your talent. Like, I feel that people can show their talent by putting more clothes on and stop being naked. I don't like that energy. Like too much.

Many people want to be so naked and it takes away from your skill. You might be a dope ass artist, but it's taken away from you because you're showing all your ass. Excuse me for my language, but that's you showing all the ass. And there's no mystery. Like if one person is bringing that hood energy, then the next person want to be, I'm going to go lower than you. I want to be more hood than you.

I want to be, and and now it starts falling off. And it's like hood, hood, hood, hood. It's gutter, savage gutter. And it's just getting worse. It's not even cute no more. You know what I mean? It's like you, now you making it look bad. You making Ratchett look horrible.

Is you giving it, you making the ladies look horrible. Like I don't like it. You know, have some type of class demeanor about yourself is getting out of control to me. And I think she's taken to the level like I'm going to be the most ratchet could is trifling most ever. And I'm a sale that I'm a capitalize off of it. It's always somebody that like you like what you do. And there's always gonna be somebody that don't like what you do. That's what I had to learn to in the industry. We can't please everybody. We had people that really love please everybody. We have people that really love

our song. We have people that really couldn't stand us for our song. You know, but we know we struck a chord, whether you loved it or not. You know, like, oh girl struck a chord with me. You went too far with it. So that's not my vibe. That's not, I'm not into it all the way like that. You know what I mean? It's not your cup of tea. It's not my vibe. That's not, I'm not into it all the way like that. You know what I mean? It's not your cup of tea. It's not your taste. Yeah. Exactly.

But I can get with some stuff, but that's just too, that's a little too far. Right, right. Like I don't mind the sexiness. Like I don't mind people having fun with their bodies. I think it's beautiful to show your body, but it's just the way the taste. Some of it be real tastes.

It's like, I know I had fun showing my body. I don't want to act like I'm an old chick that don't respect people having fun with their body. So I'm not that I think it's dope to be able to show your figure, your body and look good and do your thing. But when it comes where you we know when you like she's over she's a little over the top. But like but like some people go love you and you got to do you got to as long as she my thing is as long as she being true

Any artist as long as you being really authentic to yourself or cuz a lot of the behind the scenes stuff with Would you and other people don't know they have people in their ear telling them you got to do this You gotta do that right if she's out and she's really being her tutor herself That's all good but you're not because a lot of a lot of men be behind these girls telling them to look a certain way. And it's not respect. It's not a woman telling another woman, you know, how to get your thing, you know, how to do your thing. It's usually a man behind them telling them to look inappropriate like that. Because there have been a lot of female artists that came out and said that either a man wrote

their lyrics, a man told them how to dress, or a man did this, a man did that. So I definitely agree that if this is her, I hope this is just her doing her. Exactly. I'm one of those people I love. I like writers because I'm a songwriter. I like girls that write like I like Nikki. I don't mind her being sex because that girl can write. She's talented. I'm a barb.

Yeah, yeah, she's tight. So for me, it's no diss to other people. I'm just attracted to songwriters. Now, one of the things that I love about y'all's story is because not only did y'all have a growing music career, but y'all was also in college. Y'all was working nine to fives. So how was it balancing everything?

Hard as hell. That's a good question. We just did it. Yeah. And it was a lot. But we just, I don't know, like looking back, it was like, then I did all that. You don't even realize you was juggling all that, like at the time.

Right. You're just making it happen. Just going with the flow, just doing it. Just doing it, like you said, just doing it. I think for us, it's like, you know what? I think, here's to this day, you can do anything you put your mind to. But I think one of the problems, and I'm gonna keep saying this probably throughout the whole conversation,

when you have internet, social media, see, we didn't have all those distractions. We was focused, you know, we was very focused. There was no distractions about where our mind was connected to what we wanted to do. Oh, I'm graduating from college. Oh, I'm graduating, oh, I'm gonna be an artist. I'm gonna do this. I'm like, it was not, it was a lot,

but it's like you enjoyed it because you had a goal and you have like distractions. Yeah, you're right. You're right. And then y'all also mentioned the importance of having passion in your art. Why do you believe that money shouldn't be the primary motivation?

Cause I feel like when I listen to a lot of people from the nineties, everybody talk about how they got robbed out of their contracts and stuff. Yeah, it goes back to how I was saying about how now things are more microwaveable and it's nice for them to get their coin and their money, their bag. It's good that they get their money, but people in the nineties and seventies,

no, we wasn't getting the coin like that. So if you didn't like it like that, because you're not getting paid like that, it had to be from your passion. Because the money wasn't coming like how they money come now. So that's why you get those real authentic artists from the 90s. And that feel good music. We really was, you know, authentic. And it was like, it wasn't about the money. Even though we wanted the money, and later that it was like, it wasn't about the money. Even though we wanted the money and earned later that it was not right what was happening, but we was very passionate.

That's what kept us going, the passion. Yeah, I was gonna say with the passion, you can regain and get more money. Cause sometimes it could be here today, gone tomorrow. Or if you had the money and it's gone, then that might mentally mess with you and send you down a spiraling path of negativity or drugs or sex or whatever, that could happen.

But if you have the passion for it, you know that if I got it before, I can do it again. You can choose other avenues or the venues with that passion. So I think that's why having passion is so important because you can recreate or create something else. But let me just start with this one though, not just passion, but the spiritual. We had a very spiritual connection with our own spiritual connection with God.

And that has a lot to do with it. A lot of people commit suicide. They drink or they get drug. They get messed up with drugs. Because you know, you have a spiritual foundation and ours is pretty tight. We communicated with each other. You gotta, it's, and I mean, you gotta have, it's a deep foundation you gotta have with God, for real. The man above, you got to have a spiritual connection. Cause this music business would tear your butt down.

That's so funny you mentioned that cause it was a clip, a viral clip of Jermaine Dupri going around. And he was just saying a lot of the reason why these R&B singers don't sound like any, not don't sound like anything but you can't really feel anything because they don't have that spiritual connection because a lot of the singers from back in the day were rooted in the church. Yeah right. This is the moment of truth. Will our guests reveal their identity or keep it concealed? The choice is yours to reveal or conceal. What will it be?

Conceal. I'm down to reveal. Why should we conceal when you can reveal baby? All right, please introduce yourselves. What's up everybody? This is Kim from Moak & Steph. What's up everybody? This is Kim from Moak & Steph.

What's up everybody? This is Kim from Moak & Steph. What's up everybody? This is Kim from Moak & Steph. What's up everybody? This is Kim from Moak & Steph. What's up everybody? This is Kim right, please introduce yourselves. What's up everybody? This is Kim from Mokin and Steph. What's up y'all? This is Steph.

Who gonna bring this tea light? Mokin and Steph, what you forgot? We the ones that got you talking at your neck talking negative. But we don't wanna be around like a group of sh**. You wanna be down on sprains. Haters like, wait, I gotta get paid. Every day gonna regulate.

What? You sell me the magazine, you think it's magazine Your man feeling I'm serving them coast to coast I was born to be a star pushing up laws steady off that yank what this is Steph, baby. Okay, listen round of applause everyone Listen Stephanie when you miss Stephanie when you have your next birthday party or whatever you have an event. I need to be there You missed the last one your next birthday party or whatever you have, an event. I need to be there. You missed the last one. Right, Seth?

Because I know it. She missed the last one. We got to make sure you on that list. Yes, I'm definitely coming. Cause I'm gonna tell you, I'm gonna tell you, I love to laugh. So you're gonna definitely have some comedians there. I love to laugh.

You're gonna be laughing, girl. Oh, I already know, I already know. And then also the third member, Ms. Monifle couldn't be with us today, but she is here with us in spirit So thank you ladies for joining us So tell us how did y'all decide on your name because the name is all three of your names combined Um, well, we were actually dancing with some dancers and the guide group We were dancing for a show and they were saying, you know, how do we want to be introduced? And we was like, they were asking us what's our name.

We was like, we don't have a name. And of course we was thinking of every name with a three, three to hard way, three to three to T. I don't know. We was just thinking of different three names and we happened to be standing in the formation of Monifat, Kenya, and Stephanie. We was just standing there ready to do our routine. And we didn't come up with anything. Nobody was really feeling anything. So the guy was like, well, what about Moke and Steph? The way we were just the order we were in.

And it right at that moment, we all just loved it. And then Stephanie was like, well, what about Steph Kimbo? I can't go the other way? And we was like that's real too but the bell just sounded better that way so we just all suck with it. How do y'all feel music has influenced today's R&B or just music in general? Oh it influenced today's R&B and music in general because it's so real. Like our song really is timeless because there's always a man cheating on a woman and there's always a woman taking her man back and there's always somebody in a relationship and now he's your man. You know, so that cycle is constant.

It happened before we wrote it and it's going to happen after. Right. So it's so like TikTok brought us back because it still goes on. You know I was saying my daughter's in high school right so it's so cool they brought it all back. One time she's the cheerleader I was at her game and they was bumping my song I said what? The high school was and I was like wow and he saw on TikTok they you know they resurged it, which is beautiful. It's a blessing and we appreciate it.

Like Kenia said, it's a classic song that resonates from back in the day to today. People, like she said, I think what really get people going, everybody tried to figure out what we really was talking about. But it was so many different scenarios in that song. And we're talking about He's mine. He's mine, right. Yeah.

I said it was so many scenarios when he's mine. Well, some people thought that we were saying we was cool with letting a man cheat on us and that wasn't what we were saying. But we let people have their narrative. It was more like when we wrote it, we was talking about everybody have a man before you, and that man might not be with you no more. So now he got somebody else. But you know, in another scenario was like, and now he's with he's mine. You made it happen once you would have been with him. That was

one scenario like Key said, one of the group members boyfriend was, you know, he had cheated on her and the girl kept playing on her phone. Back on that like Mo Mo had a dude and he and the girl kept playing on the girl phone constantly so he was having jokes and we just it just turned into jokes we was jokesters it just turned into jokes after jokes after jokes with this girl you know what I'm saying and she made us have a hit. Plattin thank you for making us go platinum baby. I know she was tired.

Yeah and they playing them at weddings now. I went to a wedding and they played our song, He's Mine. Really? I was like, hey. Yeah, it's the wedding song of the year. Don't forget to add it to your playlist. When people see y'all out and about and they say, they say He's Mine is like one of my favorite songs,

like how does that make y'all feel when people see y'all? Like you at the wedding or you at your child's school, like do people recognize that it's y'all that when people see y'all? Like you at the wedding or you at the child school? Like do people recognize that it's y'all that wrote these songs? Yeah, you know, I think it's so beautiful. Yeah, people tell them. Yeah, it's a good feeling because, you know, from that to when you even perform on stage, like when, like we, like you did say at a wedding, we had went to a birthday party and they had played it. And at the time, I don't think people knew

that it was me and Kenya there at the birthday party. Right. So sometimes your song was bigger than your face. Bigger than you. Yeah. Bigger than your face, bigger than your name. Yeah. Right, Gordie?

I said it was blowing, it was seeing, they had a wonderful time. And then when they found out we was in attendance, they was blown away. And it was a beautiful feeling just to be Laid back, you know in the cut right? Loki and seeing the energy that he that's the best feelings It is it's a beautiful feeling. I also played this the video of y'all performing live of he's mine. That's been going viral lately

Have y'all seen it? We saw a couple of different ones. Which one? There's a couple of different ones. I've seen a couple of them go viral too. Well, yeah, like the song itself just been going viral again. Just lately? Yeah.

Lately, I haven't. Yeah, it's been on Instagram, y'all have on the blue dresses. And that performance been going viral. The remix. Oh yeah, I've seen a couple of them too. I've definitely seen a couple of different things that we had done performing live. We still perform live.

So I saw a couple of things going viral. And it feels good to see the energy of people and how they respond to it. I can't say every artist, but I think since you've been out before, before the social media came to life, we can handle the criticism better. It doesn't bother, we're strong in our conviction,

we know who we are, we know what we did, we wrote it ourselves, and we take responsibility for it. We take responsibility. When we did it, we did it ourselves and we take responsibility for it. We take responsibility. We was very, when we did it, we did it ourselves. Nobody made us write these. Our whole album we wrote as it is. And that whole album we wrote.

And it's like, except one song, it was a remake from Smokey Robinson, much love to Smokey Robinson. But you know, we wrote everything pretty much. And I think because we knew who we were, we had no social media, no distractions like that. I always say that. And I think we're very confident who we are.

The social, that's what people's meant to. And I see some artists be clapping back on, like, why do you care? Right. Like for me, I want to be a psychologist for these artists and talk to these artists to help them out because I'm like, who cares about, you don't even know these cats. Why are you, explain want to be a psychologist for these artists and talk to these artists to help them out because I'm like, who cares about you don't even know these cats. Why are you?

They got you all in a uproar. Right, right. Got you all in a bunch. I'm Jason Alexander and I'm Peter Tilden. And together on the Really No Really podcast our mission is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like why they refuse to make the bathroom door go all the way to the floor. We got the answer.

Will space junk block your cell signal? The astronaut who almost drowned during a spacewalk gives us the answer. We talk with the scientist who figured out if your dog truly loves you and the one bringing back the wooly mammoth Plus this Tom Cruise really do his own stunts his stuntman reveals the answer and you never know who's gonna drop by Mr. Bryan Cranston is with us. How are you? Hello my friend Wayne Knight about Jurassic Park Wayne Knight Welcome to really really sir bless you all hello Newman And you never know when Howie Mandel might just stop by to talk about judging. Really? That's the opening?

Really? No, really. Yeah, no, really. Go to really no really dot com and register to win five hundred dollars. A guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign. Jason Bobblehead. It's called Really No Really. And you can find it on the I Heart Radio app on Apple podcast or wherever you get your podcasts.

Y'all also faced some legal issues with He's Mine, which I thought that was a lot of important lessons that y'all shared. So can you share what those challenges were and how they affected your experience with the song? Because if I'm not mistaken, Ms. Stephanie, you didn't want nothing to do with the song after y'all went through it, right I Sure didn't I didn't want that to be the single because once I start learning a business another thing We talked about in our book called unfinished business that will be coming out soon

We talked about how like, you know You I think I was not happy about once I found out what they were trying to take. Because see, in this business, when you, when you, what you say, like copy another person's song or, I don't want to say copy, but you know, when you- Sample. You might be like, yeah, sample. Yeah, thank you. The producer that produced it was an amazing producer.

His name is Harry, a wonderful, he's alive, he's not just a producer, but he's a live musician. Amazing. So, yeah, he's very amazing. So I think what was crazy about our situation, he played these samples live, but in court, it was like, he was like, I didn't copy off. Whatever happened, he didn't copy off. It was like Prince, the wonderful Prince, Rest His Soul, and Roger and Zap.

So our song had those type of samples in it, but he replayed it. He didn't wait in court. He replayed it and did a whole nother little twist to it a little bit. But for the, you know, for the, as far as the court, they saw it looking like, oh, this is a Prince sample. This is, so we didn't look, we in that, but we wasn't even a part of that whole suit. We didn't even know until they came back to us. I said, well, I'm good. Let's just do Sex in the Rain.

That's our other single. We wrote it, he lied, played it, no samples. I was like, I'm good. At that time, I was not feeling to put it out. Because once I realized how much money they're going to be taking from that, I was like, wait a minute, hold up. We're not really getting nothing from it. I got outvoted.

I got outvoted basically. I was outvoted. Yeah. But it's all good now. Yeah. And I know y'all have a book coming out and I'm sure this would be covered more in detail, but can y'all share y'all decision

or the reason why y'all stepped away from music? It's in the book. You got any, anything you can say without saying? So something did happen. It's definitely in the book and you get to find, see what's cool about the book, it's like it's three perspectives. Like you know when people write books, you don't have everybody writing, it might be one person telling a story by itself But in this situation, it's a mocha Steph book That's three perspectives and you get to find out like who who walked away first and like how it you know What's that chapter we got called kid? So you put me on spot

It's in the book So this is chapter that explains The fallout. There you go. Do y'all have any regrets about the decision? Looking back now? About stepping away and leaving the music industry? Um, I don't. Not Stephanie. I didn't like it at all.

And I talk about it in the book, So that's why I said the three perspectives, you're going to find out who did what and why that person did it. But I would say for myself, just to give you a little bit, I was not feeling that decision. I was all right. Process elimination. Right.

Yes. I feel like y'all just had so much talent. I mean, y'all was dancers. Y'all was singers. Y'all was rappers. Y'all was fly. Y'all had personality. Do y'all just has so much talent. I mean y'all was dancers y'all was singers Y'all was rappers y'all was fly. I had personality Do you believe that had a first shot or do you also like the labor knew what they was on with y'all? They didn't have You said the right now and we talked about in the book is so funny

We talked about that in the book, but no they didn't understand us. Yeah, we were Very we was very creative right and thank you for that compliment We were very creative. We had some ideas that missy Elliott did later in her car video, which is we love missy Ellie And I was crazy Or I had that idea and told them way before missy came out with it and I love missy And because she was created her her people had her back Yes We was crazy talking like that. We was like, oh we want to do this

Yeah, almost a lot of ideas that we a lot of ideas that we came out We saw it come out in other groups and we will get so frustrated because it's like we Would have been the ones the first to show that vision do that We did and it was just they made it seem like we didn have been the ones the first to show that look, do that. We did. And it was just, they made it seem like we didn't know what we was talking about. Or it was so hard to put together or,

oh, we can't do that or whatever the playback was, they just wasn't feeling it. But we knew what we wanted to do. So our team wasn't all the way for us like we wanted them to be or like they should have been. Mm. I had to what King is saying when he said about a fair shot. You know what?

We are thankful for our blessings that we did receive, but no, did we get a fair shot in certain things? Because you know why? Because we spoke our mind. We was very real and we wasn't like, yes, kiss ass group. A lot of groups are, they kiss a lot of ass. Mm. No, we just kiss ass group a lot of groups are they kiss a lot of ass Mmm, no with this is it's a lot of ass they want to be so, you know, they want they want to make it So they're gonna do everything that they tell them we we would say no

We would say we ain't showing up our asses like that opening our our crotches to do a video. So we ain't doing all that We're not wearing playboy out. gonna be sexy we want to be sexy listen I just know once I get in good with y'all I can't wait to keep up with Stephanie cause I know she dated from lesser right I have y'all performance I'm gonna be right there cause I gotta get the wrong version. So yeah. Because I know Miss Stephanie was nothing to play with, baby. No, ma'am. Okay, we almost finished. So if y'all can go back and do anything differently in your music career, what would it be and

why? Really standing up to the labels and really standing firm and not just swaying what I, for me, not just swaying what I did just to, you know, appease the group or appease the group, just really just staying true to who I was because who I was was what I see right now. Right. You know, like starting out as new artists, it's like, oh, I should have just stayed that way. I shouldn't have changed my lyrics or I shouldn't have not wrote on this song or whatever the And just always standing your ground Like for me, I wish I would always did that because the artists after us

were doing it and This is just snowballing to what it is now, right? I Would say maybe um, what else? I would say like we should have took this publishing deal. We were like, we were very like. The one with Randy Jackson? I think we was, oh no, with Randy Jackson he was all good. That was a good situation but he ended up getting a job with American Idol. So that's how I know that. That would have been a great situation. He was filling us.

He was at MCA Records at that time. So that was a very good look. So no, it was a publishing deal. In this business, you have, let's see, we're writers, right? So when you're a songwriter, you can say no or yes to a publishing deal. So I think we would have got a lot more money if we would have said yes to a

Pub it was a public that was being offered to us and we was like no we brought our own song Thank you right now. What's his name? Um He's the artist dang I just lost his name, but he was a solo artist and his mother back in the days Damn, why can't I forget it? it in his name? I'm so mad. But anyway, I'm saying this to say is that his mother made the decision to be like, you know what? I'm a keep, we're not going to sell. It worked for him, the publishing deal.

He's very successful, very financially well off. But his mother made, and we did the same thing, but for us, because of the sampling and because of the edu- that's why you got, that's how we talk about in our book, you have to be educated when you get to these labels at the beginning. There were some things that we lacked knowledge of, and because we were songwriters and it was a sample that we was not aware of that was going to taking majority of the funds 90% of the money We could have did a publishing deal made so much money off of that because we the writers and write for other people But we said oh no, no a publishing deal. So I regret that me

Mmm, that's really got more would have said yes to that publishing day See public is there'll be like a million or whatever the case maybe whatever you negotiate Right, and you don't know which is that's gonna be It's like it's like a publishing company taking us a risk on you Right. Yeah, take it. They're like, oh, I'm gonna give them a minute. This song is so hot I'm gonna give them a million or whatever We should have said yes to those to that particular situation right instead of saying no we said no I can see why we said No, because we roll it but then once the politics come behind the sampling,

that was a lot of money that was taken away from us. Mm-hmm. What brought y'all back together? Was it the book? Yep. It was the book, Wanting to Tell Our Story, Wanting to Tell Our Story, because it was unfinished. That's why it's titled Unfinished business, because there was things that needed to be

talked about. And this was a segue to get, you know, once we put this book out, we knew shows and people were going to be inquiring about us, which just happened. Right. And, you know, and that would be a chance for us to finish what we want to do and get our story out there. At the same time, providing information for those coming behind us. So we will all tell our perspective on a certain situation, whether it was good, bad or ugly, but then there was a lesson behind that as well. Right. So it's so, like I told you earlier, it's a great read.

Right. It's entertaining. It got tea and information. Now I like the photos because you cannot get those 35 millimeter camera photos back in the day. After you see with certain people and like the stories, what was going on, you don't look at the picture

and you'd be like, I wonder what they was doing in this picture. We talk about what we're doing in that picture. Right, right. Whether it was with J.J. Cain, Mary J. Blige, or whatever. Whoever we was in contact with, we talk about those moments. I think it makes a very good read. Cause you, I know me, I know sometimes

I'll be looking in the picture and I'll be like, damn, I wonder what was going on. Right. But that's something that's in our, we talking about it from back in the days and it's our All and Kenya was our little photographer back then now people have photographers going with she was the photographer. She was the historian Selfie but I in one of your interviews I was listening to Someone mentioned that y'all regret that y'all didn't take

Yeah, y'all didn't jump in on internet when they started booming. So when social media do y'all remember that somebody saying that like somebody had a regret that y'all didn't take, y'all didn't jump in on internet when it started booming. So with social media, do y'all remember that? Somebody saying that? Like somebody had a regret that I think somebody was telling y'all when y'all were trying to figure things out after your contract was off. Y'all were trying to figure out what would be the next move and the guy was like, y'all need to do get into the internet. Like y'all need to get started with that. So being that social media is what it is today. Do y'all think that y'all journey may have been different if y'all would embrace it? The internet? Yes, because of the simple fact that something and just embracing the internet would have brought

something different, but it's like we, our career went through that transition and that's one of the reasons why we was always like a beat behind. So we were in the old school way of doing music, then it started going into MP3s. And then the music industry got scared because they was losing music and money, you know, because people can download it for free. So you were losing it. Then it went to the CDs. And then it then we kept going through the changes of transitions. So when you had to deal with somebody like, I forgot his name already, that went to we were just talking about he's had a writing deal for us.

Well, when we was in in talks with him, the company changes, he moves on. So we met somebody that would changes in the industry or changes with their department. So that would change whatever deal we had in motion. So if we would have been able to, you know, jump in and capitalize on that, of course things would have been different. And we did, but again, we was always that beat behind. Because it was constantly changing. Right. Yeah, it was constantly changing. People didn't know their next move. Right. Or what's the best move?

And thank god for me and kenya having degrees because you know outside from this I was a teacher, right? Actually gonna I mean that's still rapping like doing stuff for like I did like some stuff with like teachers with different people 40 yeah, I was doing stuff like with e40 with like, um Different features with um the, Snoop Dogg. I have features of me rapping on my own. But like that, I did stuff, but I also became a teacher and put that in my teaching. I would do that little raps with my students and stuff like that.

But it was one of those things that it was like, so everybody was losing money. Because if you remember the CD burning people's burning them CDs And so artists was not making money instead of me being on drugs. I said, let me use my degree. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah And you know see if we can get back in this game and you know, that's how the and that's how to fall out You know part of the fallout happened but I still was still actively working doing stuff with other people but not with Moka Steph. Right. Not us as a group because I love it so much. So what advice would you give to young women who are just now entering the music industry today based on your experiences?

I would say be very anything that you're involved in, know what you're getting into. Know what you're getting into. Make sure you have an attorney. Do not take a lot and be so, don't be so excited to be down. Don't be so excited to be involved. And make sure your business is sounding. And you know what? Now you don't really need a label. You can do this stuff if you're willing to do the work. You have to do the work though. You can be independent and make your own. And that's a good thing for them now. You don't need a label to make you who you are. You got the support from social media. And you can get that instant gratification. But you still want to know when all that money come to you You want to know how you deal with it financially management business management?

You got to have your business in order, right? Because you don't know it happens so quick it can happen so fast next one day You could be talking like right now next to your millionaire or you can make it. You know, you can be doing So you have to know what you're getting involved in so you can keep the success going for yourself. Right. And last but not least, what do you think is the legacy of Moke and Stuff? I think the legacy would probably be kind of being authentic. We was always authentic.

I think our legacy of being authentic and no one can say that we, you know, we never, we never back down on who we were. Right. Even though there were some moments that we did like kind of had to change some stuff up, and we couldn't be ourself with our music. But when it came down to our dignity, we wasn't out there having sex with different artists, we wasn't doing stuff, we know, having sex with different artists. We wasn't doing stuff. It wasn't playing our stuff like that.

We were very, you know, we was very smart about that. Our dignity meant a lot. Our integrity meant a lot to us. We can go to bed at night. I think we can go to bed at night and be like, we didn't sell our soul. Right, right. Like I think one artist say this, I think it Maya Maya is kind of like she she did sell us So it's like we did sell our soul and I think the authenticity of our music

It lives long because nobody wrote it for us. We wrote it ourselves It was us as a collective doing what we needed to do from dancing to sing it So no one could take that away from us. No one right right Well, mr. Stephanie and miss Kenya. I really enjoyed y'all on the show I'm so happy that we were able to do this and I I cannot wait for my audience to hear this because I feel Like I grew up on your music and I had a memory that I completely forgot, but I remember y'all being on all that Girl I know girl. That was such a fun moment. I love all that. Right? That was so much fun. Yes, that was such a vibe. I miss shows like that. So when you

talk about certain, I miss shows like that. Like all that. Yeah. That was a wonderful, it was very fun. You know, I think Saturday Night Live was like more like that, but you know Saturday Live kind of give that in an adult version. That was a fun vibe. No, I mean, I mean the 90s itself was just that that's the era where you just, you can't duplicate it like you just had to be there. And, and girl, and you know, you had to be there. And it's so funny that I think that that's what I like about our book, because let me tell you, I was like, damn, I can't believe we got a picture of this. It's certain things that you be tripping off of like, wow, we had a picture of this. And it was so long ago, you know, that's what, that's what makes it so beautiful. Because, you know, now you can see everything so quick, right? Right, right.

But just imagine all these pictures of stuff. You're like, wow, look how I used to look. We even crack jokes. Even in our book, we crack jokes about ourselves, how crazy we looked on a couple of moments. We like, why did we let them do this to us? Right, right. It's like, we are very, we're talking about other people, but we're talking about, we have jokes for ourselves as well.

It's funny. Right. Yes, it is. It's a picture with Debrat and Jermaine Dupree. We was at a show performing. They was in the front row watching us. Those are beautiful moments, seeing them so in tune watching us perform back in the day, before they was even hot. They used to do these major shows, showcases,

and the label, whatever label it was signed to, they would be proud to promote their acts. So you'd be performing for all kinds of industry people. It wasn't even like outside people, it was more industry driven. So only people that was in the industry got to go to these things. So when I see this picture of the Brad and Jermaine, the pre-date always was so tight and they still tied to this day.

And it's just nice to see them right next to each other, watching us in the front row performing. Yeah. You know, it's amazing, you know? So ladies, tell us, what is this book coming out? And also let everyone know where they can follow you at. Please follow us at The Real Mocha Steph, Instagram at The Real Mocha Steph,

Facebook at The Real Mocha Steph, website. Everything is at The Real Mocha Steph. The book. The website is mochaste Moken Step. The book. Except for the website is MokenStep.com. Thank you. M-O-K-E-N-S-T-E-F, MokenStep.com. Unfinished business. We will be definitely selling real soon.

It's coming soon. We're so excited about it. We're done with it. We were just doing a, it's like, so we had to hurry up and let it go. Cause you know, stuff be happening happening. We were like, well, I gotta go back and say this. Right. Let it go and let it. And we feel like that now, but we just have to stop. Stop editing. Definitely give me a post on the book so we can have you back on the show so we can talk more in-depth about your journey once the book comes out. But I'm definitely looking forward to supporting and also sharing it with my listeners. Oh yes, it's gonna

be awesome. You know what I love about you girl? You did your homework. Don't play with girls. Girl, you are about that. I'm telling you, it feels so, and let me tell you something about artists. Artists really appreciate, you know, people when they interview you that they know, they know who they talking to. Yeah, yeah. No, it was really, I told Ms. Kenya before you joined, I'm like, it's really an honor to have you all on because I remember seeing, to this day I still sing your songs. So I'm pretty sure that hearing y'all show,

yeah, I'm pretty sure once my listeners hear your show, they're gonna be even more excited that you were a part of the Professional Homegirl podcast. So I really appreciate y'all ladies. Yes, come on Professional Homegirl. I didn't appreciate that.all ladies. Yes, come on. I love it. Yeah. Yes. So I have to see y'all some shirts and stuff so y'all can wear it. So I definitely yeah, I will definitely definitely. We're gonna tag you girl. We gonna tag you Queen. Yes. Yes. Yes. And to the listeners, if

you have any questions, comments or concerns, please make sure to email me a hello at the phdpodcast.com. This has been a pleasure, ladies, and I am so appreciative of you all. So until next time, everyone, ladies and gentlemen, Mokyn Steph. Thank you. Love and light, baby. Thank you. Thank you, Ebene.

You're welcome. The Professional Homegirl Podcast is a production of the Black Effect Podcast Network. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Don't forget to subscribe and rate the show. And you can connect with me on social media at the PHG Podcast. I'm Jason Alexander. And I'm Peter Tilden.

And together our mission. On the Really No Really podcast. Is to get the true answers to life's baffling questions like. Why the bathroom door doesn't go all the way to the floor? What's in the museum of failure? And does your dog truly love you? We have the answer. Go to ReallyNoReally.com and register to win $500, a guest spot on our podcast or a limited edition sign Jason Bobblehead. The Really No Really podcast. Follow us on the iHeart radio

app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. People, my people, what's up? This is Quest Quaslove man I cannot believe we're already wrapping up another season of Quaslove Supreme man we've got some amazing guests lined up to close out the season but you know I don't want any of you guys to miss all the incredible conversations we've had so far I mean we talked to a Marie Johnny Maher E Jonathanchter, Billy Porter, and so many more. Look, if you haven't heard these episodes yet, hey, now's your chance.

You gotta check them out. Listen to Questlove Supreme on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey guys, I'm Kate Max. You might know me from my popular online series, The Running Interview Show, where I run with celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs, and more. After those runs, the conversations keep going. That's what my podcast, Post Run High, is all about.

It's a chance to sit down with my guests and dive even deeper into their stories, their journeys, and the thoughts that arise once we've hit the pavement together. Listen to Post Run High on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The forces shaping markets and the economy are often hiding behind a blur of numbers. So that's why we created The Big Take from Bloomberg podcasts, to give you the context you need to make sense of it all. Every day in just 15 minutes we dive into one global business story that matters. You'll hear from Bloomberg journalists like Matt Levine.

A lot of this meme stock stuff is I think embarrassing to the SEC. Follow The Big Take podcast on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen. Hi, I'm Dani Shapiro, host of the hit podcast, Family Secrets. How would you feel if when you met your biological father for the first time, he didn't even say hello? And what if your past itself was a secret and the time had suddenly come to share that past with your child. These are just a few of the powerful and profound questions we'll be asking on our 11th season of Family Secrets.

Listen to Season 11 of Family Secrets on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.